Humane Happenings

by Dolly Loftus


Scruffy and puppies
Photo by Skip Higgins; Raskal Photography

Desert Haven Animal Refuge has welcomed a new group of work campers since the beginning of April. We are blessed again to have individuals with all sorts of talents that really make the care and maintenance of our furry and feathered friends a joyful task. Gene, our jack-of-all trades person, has recently built the framework to enable us to attach some netting over the chicken yard. Then we will be able to move the peacocks there, so they will have more room to strut their stuff. Skip, a photography pro, has taken pictures of Scruffy’s seven puppies as a portrait shot. It will be posted on the bulletin board at Paws and Claws sometime soon. The rest of the crew is busy painting and doing other projects to make the refuge nice for the animals and our visitors. We must have a lot of visitors, because our adoption rate is higher than it has ever been. All are great success stories, and the new moms and dads keep in contact with us to tell cute tales about their new companions.

Dolly Loftus recently visited the schools to ask how the children and teachers liked their subscription to Kind News. The response was great, and we made some changes, so that more students were involved, and the reading material was appropriate to their grade level. Distribution of the magazine is an educational project sponsored by the Sierra County Humane Society to teach children and others how to care for animals. From the response that we get at Desert Haven and our Paws & Claws Thrift Store, we know that our community cares about animals.

We are thankful to a handful of new locals who have expressed an interest in volunteering, and there are some new faces from time to time helping out at the thrift store. Since summer and the travel season are coming, we are going to need some extra help when our regulars decide to hit the road. This includes our office staff at Desert Haven. We could still use someone for filing and clerical work with a minimum of computer skills. If you are interested, please call Desert Haven Animal Refuge at 575-740-0715.